The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Spirituality and Social Work

Description

This international volume provides a comprehensive account of contemporary research, new perspectives and cutting-edge issues surrounding religion and spirituality in social work. The introduction introduces key themes and conceptual issues such as understandings of religion and spirituality as well as definitions of social work, which can vary between countries. The main body of the book is divided up into sections on regional perspectives; religious and spiritual traditions; faith-based service provision; religion and spirituality across the lifespan; and social work practice. The final chapter identifies key challenges and opportunities for developing both social work scholarship and practice in this area. Including a wide range of international perspectives from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Malta, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, the UK and the USA, this Handbook succeeds in extending the dominant paradigms and comprises a mix of authors including major names, significant contributors and emerging scholars in the field, as well as leading contributors in other fields of social work who have an interest in religion and spirituality. The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Spirituality and Social Work is an authoritative and comprehensive reference for academics and researchers as well as for organisations and practitioners committed to exploring why, and how, religion and spirituality should be integral to social work practice. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of tables Notes on contributors Part I Introduction 1 Religion and spirituality in social work: creating an international dialogue Part II Regional perspectives 2 Australia: it’s complicated 3 Korean social welfare’s approach to spiritual diversity 4 The absent presence of religion and spirituality in mental health social work in Northern Ireland 5 Spirituality and religion in Maltese social work practice: a taboo? Part III Religious and spiritual traditions 6 The constructed ‘Indian’ and Indigenous sovereignty: social work practice with Indigenous peoples 7 The sacred in traditional African spirituality: creating synergies with social work practice 8 Studying social work: dilemmas and difficulties of Ultra-Orthodox women 9 Western Buddhism and social work 10 Achieving dynamic balancing: application of Daoist principles into social work practice 11 Celtic spirituality: exploring the fascination across time and place 12 Material spirituality: challenging Gnostic tendencies in contemporary understandings of religion and spirituality in social work 13 Social work with Muslim communities: treading a critical path over the crescent moon 14 Religious and spiritual perspectives of social work among the Palestinians Part IV Faith-based service provision 15 Partners in service and justice: Catholic social welfare and the social work profession 16 Residential childcare in faith-based institutions 17 The background and roles of The Salvation Army in providing social and faith-based services 18 South Asian gurus, their movements and social service 19 Reclaiming compassion: Auschwitz, Holocaust remembrance and social work 20 At a crossroads: the Church of Sweden and its role as a welfare provider in a changing Swedish welfare state Part V Religion and spirituality across the lifespan 21 Spirituality: the missing component in trauma therapy across the lifespan 22 Spirituality as a protective factor for children and adolescents 23 Responding to child abuse in religious contexts 24 Queer meaning 25 From entanglement to equanimity: an application of a holistic healing approach into social work practice with infertile couples 26 Life’s end journey: social workers in palliative care 27 Social work and suffering in end-of-life care: an arts-based approach Part VI Social work practice 28 Religious literacy in public and professional settings 29 Spirituality and sexuality: exploring tensions in everyday relationship-based practice 30 Mindfulness for professional resilience 31 Spiritual competence: the key to effective practice with people from diverse religious backgrounds 32 A spiritual approach to social work practice 33 Critical spirituality and social work practice 34 Spiritually informed social work within conflict-induced displacement 35 Holistic arts-based social work 36 Ethical principles for transitioning to a renewable energy economy in an era of climate change 37 The spiritual dimensions of ecosocial work in the context of global climate change 38 Ultimate concerns and human rights: how can practice sensitive to spirituality and religion expand and sharpen social work capacity to challenge social injustice? 39 Addressing spiritual bypassing: issues and guidelines for spiritually sensitive practice Part VII Conclusion 40 Developing the agenda for religion and spirituality in social work Index